'Boring' Bob MacIntyre pleased with PGA start as mud balls are berated at Quail Hollow

It might not have been good enough to outshine Luke Donald, the European captain, but Bob MacIntyre’s opening salvo was just what the doctor ordered in the Oban man’s bid to be involved in a second successive Ryder Cup later this year.

On a day when former world No 1 Donald made the most of securing an invitation for the 107th PGA Championship to card an eye-catching four-under-par 67 at Quail Hollow, MacIntyre also produced something to smile about in North Carolina.

Recovering from a slow start, the 28-year-old signed for a 68 - it left him in a tie for ninth behind Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas - as he took up where he left off in last year’s Wanamaker Trophy event at Valhalla, where he finished in a tie for eighth behind Xander Schauffele.

Bob MacIntyre and caddie Mike Burrow talk tactics during the first round of the 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina | Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

MacIntyre, who missed the cut in last month’s Masters, found himself on the back foot early on after three-putting the par-4 second from 23 feet then missing a six-footer for a birdie at the next hole, raising fears that he was set for another frustrating day on the greens.

The putter didn’t exactly turn blazing hot thereafter, but it did warm up a bit as he converted a 17-footer at the seventh for his first birdie of the day then knocked in another birdie putt from six feet at the next.

Out in one under, the Genesis Scottish Open and RBC Canadian Open champion then produced a rock-solid back nine, which includes the ‘Green Mile’ finishing stretch at the venue for the season’s second major.

He was on the green at the driveable par-4 14th and two-putted from around 43 feet before holing from ten feet at the 15th as he got up and down from a bunker for the second time in the round.

Scot fourth in tee to green category

Statistically, it was an impressive day’s work. At the end of the he round, he was ranked fourth in the tee to green category, fifth for his approach play and was also in the top ten for strokes gained with 4.513. There is still room for improvement with the putting, which was -0.348 in terms of strokes gained, but, nonetheless, it was a fine effort for his first competitive outing on this course and MacIntyre knew it.

“I’ve been playing absolutely superb this year tee to green and just needing that bit spark,” he told Sky Sports Golf afterwards. “Didn’t get off to a great start today, but I kept at it.

“I think I missed two greens today out on that golf course when it is long, soft and the rough is reasonably punishing. The par 4s are long and, to be honest, to start a major the way I have is really pleasing.”

MacIntyre opened with a 66 in the same event 12 months ago before going on to record his best finish in it in five appearances, having made the cut in all of them apart from the 2023 edition at Oak Hill.

A hot putter helped Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald make an eye-catching start in the season’s second major | Alex Slitz/Getty Images

“I think it’s just to trust everything I am doing and to trust everyone around me in my team,” he said when asked what he’d learned from that effort. “Just that the work we are doing is going in the right direction and I am trusting the process.

“It’s boring, but the process is just trying to get better piece by piece. Statistically, I am better than I was last year. It doesn’t feel that way, but, when you look at the bigger picture, you are getting better and that’s all you can ask for.”

MacIntyre, who qualified automatically for the 2023 Ryder Cup and was unbeaten in his three matches as Europe regained the trophy under Donald’s captaincy, sits 16th on the points list for September’s clash at Bethpage Black in New York.

Oban man excited about some ‘big tournaments’

“It is difficult,” he admitted to being asked about trusting that process when he is wanting to make the team again. “Just now, I feel I am behind where I want to be. But we always talk about just timing a run and what a time to start a run, to be honest without you, from here on into The Open really. Some very, very big golf tournaments and it’s all about just keeping the head down and keep fighting and, yeah, hopefully hole a few putts.”

As Donald did as the 47-year-old Englishman opened with his lowest score in a major in 21 years and, at the same time, signed for a first bogey-free card in the game’s marquee events since 2015.

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler pictured together during the first round at Quail Hollow | Warren Little/Getty Images

“It was a pleasant surprise,” admitted Donald, who has made just two cuts worldwide since last July. “I got off to a really nice, steady start. I hit a bunch of fairways on the front nine which always makes me feel good about my game. I didn't hit a ton of greens today, but my putter was really good.”

As evidenced by the fact, in comparison to MacIntyre, he was 4.479 for strokes gained on the green in producing an effort that left him alongside compatriot Aaron Rai, Kiwi Ryan Fox, who only secured his place in the field when landing a breakthrough win on the PGA Tour last Sunday, and German Stephan Jaeger.

On a day when he struggled to hit the fairways, Rory McIlroy’s first outing in a major as a grand slam winner was marked with a disappointing three-over 74, leaving the Northern Irishman with a battle on his hands to make the cut at a venue where he’s won four times on the PGA Tour.

Rory McIlroy has fight on his hands to make cut

Playing in the same group - all three players ran up double-bogey 6s at the 16th - world No 1 Scottie Scheffler came home in 33 to salvage a 69 while defending champion Schauffele opened with a 72.

“Overall I did a good job battling and keeping a level head out there during a day when there were definitely some challenging aspects to the course,” said Scheffler of twice having mud balls after the PGA of America decided not to have preferred lies despite heavy rain earlier in the week. “Did a good job posting a number on a day where I didn't have my best stuff.”

Both Scheffler and Schauffele spoke about being affected by mud balls after they each hit second shots into the water at the 16th from the middle of the fairway.

“I hit in the middle of the fairway, you’ve got mud on your ball and it’s tough to control where it goes after that,” said Scheffler. “It’s frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it’s going to go.

Mud balls are ‘going to get worse’ - Xander Schauffele

“You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes. But I don’t make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules.”

Open champion Schauffele bemoaned the same scenario, saying: “The mud balls are going to get worse. They’re going to get in that perfect cake zone to where it’s kind of muddy underneath and then picking up mud on the way through.

Maybe hit it a little bit lower off the tee, but then unfortunately the problem with hitting it low off the tee is the ball doesn’t carry or roll anywhere, so then you sacrifice distance. It’s a bit of a crapshoot.”

Making it a good day for the Ryder Cup captains, US skipper Keegan Bradley signed for a 68 that included four birdies. “Yeah, I'm excited to shoot him a text when we're done here,” he said of Donald’s fast stat. “I was pumped to see Luke up there. I know how hard he's been working back home.”

As Vegas, who shot a seven-under 64 to sit two shots cleaer of the field, created history by becoming the first Venezuelan to hold the lead in a major, career grand slam-chasing Jordan Spieth slumped to a disappointing 76 to sit alongside Masters runner-up Justin Rose. Two-time champion and 2017 Quail Hollow winner Justin Thomas is also sitting on the wrong side of the projected cut following a 73.